Show the city of Rochester a credible way forward

Richards, Warren must be specific in primary season

With several mutually claimed points of progress for Rochester in tough times, Mayor Thomas Richards and City Council President Lovely Warren have thus far worked well in concert.

Enter the 2013 mayoral race. With the incumbent having backed into declaring his intentions to keep his job another four years, and Warren now behaving very much as Richards' rival despite not officially announcing her candidacy, the stage is set for what could be a divisive Democratic primary. Through it all, the participants must keep city harmony and progress top of mind.

Noteworthy economic development wins that have construction sites humming across the city are in painfully sharp contrast with the "other Rochester."

In the coming months, Richards and Warren (as head of Council or as mayoral hopeful) need to take action. They should talk specifics about how the city can navigate choppy financial waters, better address pressing matters linked to concentrated poverty - failing schools, lack of opportunity and crime chief among them - and maintain quality-of-life services.

Ballooning pension obligations and an outdated, insufficient tax revenue model are contributing to a $28 million budget deficit for next fiscal year. Rochester's next mayor will need to eke efficiencies out of a budget that each year is claimed to be cut to the bone, while also tirelessly lobbying Gov. Andrew Cuomo for needed reforms that will help keep Rochester and other upstate municipalities above water.

Rochesterians have grown rightfully weary of restarts - fledgling efforts to tackle old problems. Richards must explain how he will "focus and finish" for all city residents in the coming term, and Warren needs to show how "we can do it all."

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Show the city of Rochester a credible way forward

Mayor Thomas Richards and City Council President Lovely Warren must be specific in primary season.

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